SWIMMING DOMINATES FRIDAY THE

Sp ke FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2009 Volume 59 No. 4 THE CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL BERWYN, PA www.stoganews.com A View From Above Barely old enough to drive, students take to the skies A s Alec Mayes’s bold yellow Piper J-3 Cub takes off from the runway, a sweeping calm fills the cockpit. The airport quickly grows smaller as the plane gains in altitude, replacing the hustle and bustle of life on the ground with the peace and quiet of the open sky. While most teenagers are focused on getting their driver’s license during high school, some students are taking their pas- sion for vehicles to new heights. Mayes, a junior, is one of a growing number of students preparing to take their pilot’s license test in the upcoming months, with the hope of someday pursuing a career in aviation. While the road to becoming a pilot is long and arduous, most of these aspiring students say that the feeling of soaring high above the clouds is well worth the work it requires. Mayes began flying at an early age, receiving a set of flying lessons at Brandywine Airport—located in West Chester—for his eighth birthday. He described the experience of his first flight as “intimidating, but exhilarating all the same.” By K.C. McConnell and Seth Zweiﬂer Staff Reporter and News Editor Junior Alec Mayes prepares his Piper J-3 Cub for takeoff at Brandywine Airport, located in West Chester. Mayes is preparing to take his pilot’s license test in the next few months. Henry Rome photos/The SPOKE SWIMMING DOMINATES Girls swimming takes Central League See p. 21 “I couldn’t even see above the dashboard at the time, but I knew that it was something I enjoyed and wanted to pursue,” he said. Since that time, Mayes said he has developed what once started as a simple hobby into a viable career option. After receiving clearance from a certified flight instructor, he made his first solo flight on his 16th birthday. “I flew a plane by myself before I even had a driver’s permit for a car,” Mayes said. “That was a little strange.” However, he will have to wait a little bit longer when it comes to obtaining an official general aviation license. Among other requirements, applicants must be at least 17 years old and must have logged a minimum of 40 hours of practice with a certified instructor in order to take the examination. See AVIATION, p. 6 stoganews .com For a photo gallery from this story, go to stoganews.com

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Transcript of SWIMMING DOMINATES FRIDAY THE

Sp ke FRIDAYFEBRUARY 13, 2009

Volume 59 No. 4

T H E ConEstogA HIgH sCHool

BERwYn, PAwww.stoganews.com

A View From AboveBarely old enough to drive, students take to the skies

As Alec Mayes’s bold yellow Piper J-3 Cub takes off from the runway, a sweeping calm fills the cockpit. The airport quickly grows smaller as the plane gains in altitude,

replacing the hustle and bustle of life on the ground with the peace and quiet of the open sky.

While most teenagers are focused on getting their driver’s license during high school, some students are taking their pas-sion for vehicles to new heights.

Mayes, a junior, is one of a growing number of students pre-paring to take their pilot’s license test in the upcoming months, with the hope of someday pursuing a career in aviation. While the road to becoming a pilot is long and arduous, most of these aspiring students say that the feeling of soaring high above the clouds is well worth the work it requires.

Mayes began flying at an early age, receiving a set of flying lessons at Brandywine Airport—located in West Chester—for his eighth birthday. He described the experience of his first flight as “intimidating, but exhilarating all the same.”

By K.C. McConnell and Seth ZweiflerStaff Reporter and News Editor

Junior Alec Mayes prepares his Piper J-3 Cub for takeoff at Brandywine Airport, located in West Chester. Mayes is preparing to take his pilot’s license test in the next few months.Henry Rome photos/The SPOKE

SWIMMING DOMINATESGirls swimming takes Central League

See p. 21

“I couldn’t even see above the dashboard at the time, but I knew that it was something I enjoyed and wanted to pursue,” he said.

Since that time, Mayes said he has developed what once started as a simple hobby into a viable career option. After receiving clearance from a certified flight instructor, he made his first solo flight on his 16th birthday.

“I flew a plane by myself before I even had a driver’s permit for a car,” Mayes said. “That was a little strange.”

However, he will have to wait a little bit longer when it comes to obtaining an official general aviation license. Among other requirements, applicants must be at least 17 years old and must have logged a minimum of 40 hours of practice with a certified instructor in order to take the examination.

See AVIATION, p. 6

stoganews.com For a photo gallery from this

story, go to stoganews.com